Barry's Bulletin #2

Reality Television:

How Much is Too Much Reality?

A sensational world-wide phenomenon, reality television in 2000 back with a vengeance in 2001. In the television business, success means that we have to endure the 'Here come the clones' syndrome.

From daytime talk shows to "amazing" home videos, RT is everywhere. Last year we had such programs as Survivor 1 and big Brother. Now we can look forward to programs such as Survivor 2, The Mole, Temptation Island, Manhunt and Popstars, a multi- week series that chronicles the behind- the- scenes auditions for a female pop band. The reality television craze raises many issues about media constructions, network competition and contemporary reality. It is a perfect topic to explore with a media class and to launch seminars and heated debates.

The appeal of these shows has many layers, beginning with the voyeuristic pleasures of audiences as we watch, what we assume, is only partially scripted drama. We are made to relish or wince at the scheming, bargaining antics of the participants in these weird, often titillatingly contrived human lab experiments. Using Survivor 1 as a successful case study, we would have to include another appealing element: there is usually some one we can identify with. In Survivor 1, if you didn't like Greta, then maybe you preferred sweet little Colleen; if you were aghast at the scheming manipulative Richard Hatch, well, there was always that gritty, sour conservative Rudi and so on.

• What RT shows have you watched? Which ones did you enjoy the most? Which ones did you dislike? Account for the appeal of the most successful of these shows.
• On the Internet, use one or more search engines and type in reality television and open up the leading websites associated with these shows. There is a great deal of gossip and inside information on each show. Discuss some examples.
• How would this information contribute to the enjoyment of the fans?
• What does this information tell us today about the cultural significance of Internet chat groups and websites run by fans?

Because these shows are relatively cheap to produce - small fees paid to the participants and big bucks to the winner - money can be directed to production values. These shows depend on many roving cameras and many skilled editors who will pick the best scenes: ones with provocative arguments, sexual suggestiveness, scheming cliques, and unintended humour.

• Select a scene from a show such as Survivor and list all the contributions of the production team which must make sense of the story and make it enjoyable. You will want to include the following: the opening teaser, the use of music, and the variety of editing techniques. If there is a host or person involved in describing the forthcoming challenges, how much of a role is this person given in shaping the "spontaneous" events to subsequently occur?
• Editing is crucial in many of the RT programs, especially the use of parallel editing or cross cutting, as we go from one group to another. (Consult available classroom film textbooks for explanations of these cinematic terms.) For this purpose, you should look at one complete show and analyze every scene in terms of how it was edited and its contribution to subsequent scenes.
• The shows are filmed and winners and losers are sworn to secrecy about the outcomes of contests e.g. who gets voted off the island, but participants appear on talk shows and do interviews with the press. What role do these appearances play in our understanding and enjoyment of the shows? Are there any negative aspects to these performances? How does the celebrity making machinery in popular culture e.g. PR agents, magazines like People, and the scandal tabloids, extend the meanings for audiences of RT .
• Mark Fishman, a sociology professor notes that "these shows take delight in the misfortunes of others. It's a guilty pleasure. You feel you shouldn't be watching." The morality of many of these shows is often questionable but as Survivor host Jeff Probst puts it "You see the worst in people, but you do see the best in people, too." Discuss these observations. Under what circumstances do you think the producers have pushed the moral envelope too far?
• If you were to be selected for one of these shows, explain the role(s) you would like to play. What strategies would you use to survive effectively in these artificial environments?
• In groups, write a proposal for a new RT series. What ethical standards would your group agree to? How would you keep people interested in the unfolding story? You might want to propose a parody of one of the hot new RT shows (For ideas, watch late night talk shows such as Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show, " "Saturday Night Live" and "the Daily Show" with Jon Stewart, Mon- Friday 11:00 to 11:30PM

Stage a forum on the topic "The future of reality television”.

End of the year Roundup: What do we learn about media choices?

Each year at the end of December, newspapers, popular magazines and television specials focus on the year -in-review. The media not only look at the high lights of important news stories but also investigate the world of popular entertainment: celebrities, who is in, who is out; trends in movies, television, music and art. This information should encourage media students to make comparisons and draw some interesting conclusions. Whatever the source, there are always critical criteria at stake. For example, conservative and mainstream media sources may make choices that reflect that background.

Choose several sources of end -of -the- year roundups

• What are the common patterns which emerge in your study? For example, are the majority of the film critics giving the top awards to Tom Hanks in "Castaway."
• Assess the quantity and quality of the pop culture coverage of young people. For example, are the critics sympathetic to teen groups such as 'NSync, and the Backstreet boys?
• Many journalists love to invent their own special awards. Some of these are often written in a patronizing, smart alec way: the worst new show of 2000; the best hairdo in a sitcom; the coldest kiss of the year.
• Invent your own titles and special categories of awards- ideally using compelling titles- and appropriately classify pop culture names and trends of 2000.
• What qualifies as useful reporting? questionable or useless?
• What categories would you want to suggest would make useful additions?

Forthcoming Events

3rd World Summit on Media For Children Thessalonike, Greece March 23-26, 2001

The 3rd World Summit on media for children brings together professionals from all five continents. This major event introduces an audiovisual policy encouraging media literacy in order to create media awareness worldwide and demonstrates the emerging relationship of children’s television and the new media. e-Mail summit@cmd.gr
For online registration form

Calendar Carping

The new Adbusters calendar is, as its title proclaims, all about an activist agenda. In the introduction, we are given a mini manifesto. “We call ourselves culture jammers. We are a loose global network of artists, activists, writers, environmentalists, ecological economists, media literacy teachers, green entrepreneurs, reborn lefties, ecofeminists, downshifters, high school shit disturbers, campus rabble rousers, dropouts, incorrigibles, poets and philosophers... Our aim is to topple existing power structures and forge major adjustments to the way we live in the 21st century.”

So here we have David and Goliath for the new millennium. I admire Adbusters’ moxy. Their numerous clever ad parodies, most famously the Absolut Vodka series, have been used in hundreds of media classrooms. (In the new calendar, the one I like is the portrait for January which shows a young couple at a Coke machine with a surprised look on their face as they see their own images represented in the painting on the machine as gleamingly happy Coke consumers.) There has been some payoff in Adbusters' culture jamming practices e.g. WTO protests and the battle in Seattle last spring.

That said, I agree with Toronto culture critic Naomi Klein's assessment. “The magazine is capable of lacerating wit, but its attacks on nicotine and alcohol and fast food joints can be repetitive and obvious.” The totally negative attitude to the media The tube head portraits and campaign for “TV Turnoff Week.” convey the notion that the media are inherently bad for you and audiences are presumed to be cultural dupes, helpless pawns of negative messages. At times these endeavors simply support a protectionist position. While Adbusters’ discourse is politically rather naive, there is boundless energy here and a wacky sense of fun. Is there anyone else who is ambivalent about Adbusters' success and wary of their recent causes and tactics ? Let’s hear your responses.

Suggested Links:

See also Hazen, Don and Julia Winokur. We the Media: A Citizen's Guide to Fighting for Media Democracy. The New Press, New York, 1997.)

Buckingham, David. The Making of Citizens: Young People, News and Politics. Routledge, 2000. Klein, Naomi. No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies. Alfred Knopf Canada, 2000. ( Now in paperback from Random House)

Lasn, Kalle. Culture Jam: The Uncooling of America. Lasn, the founder of Adbusters Magazine explores the why and how of doing oppositional critiques of corporate culture

Moore, Michael. Downsize This: Random Threats from an Unarmed American. Harper, 1997.

Canadian Tire calendar 2001 The end of political correctness?

Usually large corporations are careful about the image they project through their advertising, their press releases and any freebies such as calendars. It was therefore a shock to see the kind of representation shown in Canadian Tire’s calendar for 2001. While some may believe that multitculturalism in Canada has been pushed to the extreme (The PC police will get you if you don’t present a balanced view of the representation of gender, race and ethnicity! ) this edition was an example of pathetic tokenism. The calendar is a 12 month celebration of all- white kids who are swimming, tobogganing, running and playing baseball, with exception of one portrait showing a black kid in the foreground playing with his white buddies. Media classes may want to file some strong complaints Start with the local CT manager to the president at head office. E-Mail: . Maybe next year the images will change.

Open Mike with Mike Bullard: Comedy Canadian Style?

In the world of big time comedy, Canada does not have to take a back seat. Not only have we exported such mega star winners as Jim Carrey and John Candy and other members of the SCTV cast, Lorne Michaels (Saturday Night Live) and Dave Foley of Kids in the Hall ( One of my former students, incidentally ) but Canadians had editorial control of the influential National Lampoon magazine for many years. And Canadians are all aware of the popular home grown “Air Farce,” “This Hour has 22 minutes” and the annual festival “Juste pour Rire.” Add to this short list is “Open Mike with Mike Bullard.” Now in its fourth season, Bullard has gained a loyal following, especially among young people who love his irreverent wit. As well as giving us some laughs, the show has done a great deal to showcase Canadian talent.

Seen on the Comedy Network Monday to Friday at 12PM, 10PM and on CTV at 12 AM. (For an interesting media experience If you are in Toronto, be sure to get free tickets to the 6.30 PM tapings 416-934-4737

Your Pop culture Assignment.

Explain the appeal of the show and especially of Mike’s audience routines. Check out the website for a cross section of stand-up routines. To what extent could this show succeed in the United States?

Here is a short excerpt from Bullard’s book Open Mike: Little Thoughts From a Big head. Seal Books, 1999.

Signs you might be Canadian:

• You don't feel the urge to purchase maple syrup at the airport
• You’ve plugged a car in overnight
• You know the names of every breakfast cereal and Vachon’s Cake in both English and French.
• You can’t name five Canadian prime ministers but you know the first name of everyone related to Wayne Gretsky.

Mad Magazine makes George W memorably mad

In recent years, The Nation, an articulate, left- leaning magazine, has been creating some great spoof covers. The latest one is of George W Bush who is made to resemble the famed Alfred E. Newman of Mad Magazine fame. What, me president? A previous issue showed a kind of a black generic musician/athlete with his mouth grotesquely transformed into the Nike swoosh. To download the recent spoof go to www.thenation.com

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Teachers pursue Meaning, Myth and Symbolism

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon could win the Oscar as Best Picture even though the box office has been meager.( After all, there are English subtitles) and I suspect that in spite of critical plaudits, teens will stay away from it unless their hearing about the spectacular balletic style duels might pull them in. For teachers who love to work with dense symbolism, this lyrically romantic and visually stunning film offers a treasure trove. Peter Howell, a film critic with the Toronto Star using such sources as Cirlot's Dictionary of Symbolism and knowledge of the symbolic representations which pervade eastern thought did an elaborate decoding. (January 5, 2001 )

Highlights of his article: Beneath the surface of an adventure of good and evil and a romance is the religious allegory. It’s a quest for God, the universal All. The jumping, flying and leaping seen in the film are all symbols of the search for heavenly ascension. Filmmaker Ang Lee in his production notes asserts: "The essence of Chinese philosophy in martial arts as in all types of philosophies, is to seek harmony and try to reduce conflicts. The dragon is a diabolical guardian of evil. Concerning the character named Jade Fox, Taoists believe jade is the symbol of perfection, guaranteeing immortality." The fox represents the contradiction of human nature: the animal is smart and cunning, but also devious and reckless

Often linked with symbolism is the use of myth to structure and enrich stories. A new book has arrived which will help teachers apply this rich resource to popular culture. Elizabeth Hirschman: Mythology of American Culture. (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2000.) Given that the majority of media teachers also teach English, this eminently readable book should help to fill a pedagogical gap, courtesy of Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung and Levi Strauss. Sample texts: Star Wars, Titanic, ER and Seinfeld. the book is eminently readable. Using 50 films and 20 television shows, Hirschman does her mythic analysis with such films as Gone with the wind, The Sound of Music, the Godfather, Star Wars, E.T., Rain Man, The lion King and Titanic. Television shows include Dick Van Dyke, All in the Family, Dallas, M.A.S.H., The Cosby Show, Home Improvement, Friends, and Seinfeld.

Deconstructing Film Critics on Television

Pop culture acceptance of film criticism began in the 1970's with Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel in their popular" Sneak Previews" PBS television show where they reviewed current film releases. They were such a success that they took their movie review show to a major network. The famous thumbs up and thumbs down ratings' signifiers are now part of our movie review landscape. Ed Roeper, a columnist of the Chicago Sun Time, has replaced Gene Siskel, Roger's long time sparring partner who died last year. Ebert and Roeper at the Movies, Sunday at 12:05 AM on CTV is useful for film buffs even though it is chock full of commercials. New critic Roeper debates too much like an irate school boy in a silly snit. Ebert's encyclopedic knowledge and middle of the road position, however, is a helpful base for determining whether you are going to like a new film.

Less electrifying but more thoughtful is "Flick", a new weekly program on the Life Channel in Canada. The program is conveniently repeated several times: Thursday 7 PM, Friday 1.30 PM and 7.30 PM Saturday at 6.30 PM and Sunday at 6 PM. Two critics Brent Banbury ( former CBC -TV anchor) and Anita Herczeg (a documentary filmmaker) debate the merits of four new films per show. The websites: www.lifenetwork.ca/flick/ is obviously lean compared with the Internet movie data base www.imdb.com but contains some good interviews with stars and directors and highlights of the two critics in dialogue.

Quotes of the Month

"The media culture is so dialectically preoccupied - with good or bad, up or down, heroes and villains- that they forget to select for a mitigating wisdom that is much more complicated, that tolerates and understands undertow. There is almost no manifestation in our media culture that respects that. Jazz does." - Globe ∓Mail, January 4, 2001 interview with Ken Burns, famed documentary filmmaker and director of recent television/video series on Jazz.

"I only wear crop tops because other clothes would make me sweat when I dance." - Britney Spears

"You know it's going to hell when the best rapper out there is a white guy and the best golfer is a black guy. " - Basketball star Charles Barkley